Monkey See, Monkey Do
by D. M. Evans
Summary: Goku tries to walk in Sanzo’s footsteps, or at least as he sees them.


Monkey See Monkey Do

D M Evans

Disclaimer – not mine. All rights belong to Kazuya Minekura et al, no profit made, just a little fun

Rating – PG-13

Time Line/Spoilers – None really, set in the time period before the journey, not long after Sanzo introduces Goku to the monks

Pairing – none

Summary – Goku tries to walk in Sanzo's footsteps, or at least as he sees them.

Author's Note – written for ficvariations light/dark June challenge. Thanks to evillittledog for the beta

He really hadn't meant to do it. It was an accident. He just never had the chance to really poke around the temple much, not with Sanzo insisting he hide in the shed. There were just so many new sights and sounds and Goku couldn't wait to experience them all. To that end, he had taken a deep sniff of something burning in a brass pot and sneezed heartily. Unfortunately, it blew ash all over the Sanzo's robes. The fan retaliation nearly knocked Goku to the floor.

"It was an accident!" Goku rubbed his head.

"You don't stick your nose in an incense pot," Sanzo replied, trying to dust himself off and managing to smear it everywhere.

"What's incense?" 

'The stuff burning inside," Sanzo said with the weariness of a parent whose child was in the 'what's this?' stage. He turned and went back towards his rooms.

"Like your cigarette…no, guess incense smells better," Goku said and got the evil eye for his effort as he trailed after Sanzo. "What are we going to do today, Sanzo?"

"First I have to change my robes," Sanzo replied, peeling out of his smudged robe. "And I've temple business to attend to. Nothing that will interest you, monkey."

Goku sighed gustily then brightened. "Maybe I can help."

Sanzo barked out a laugh as he got a fresh robe. "I'm counting myself lucky if you don't break something. Why don't you go outside and play?"

"But I want to stay with you," Goku said, stressed that Sanzo still failed to see that he was Goku's sun. He had tried to explain the light Sanzo brought into his darkness but he must not be good enough with words. Sometimes all that time in the cave came trickling back, years spent in the shadows with nothing but rock for his bed and Goku would have to run and find Sanzo. Just a glimpse of gold hair would settle Goku's fears but when he tried to explain it to Sanzo, it just didn't work.

"You'll get bored and then you'll bother me," Sanzo said, his brow pinching in anticipation.

"I won't," Goku protested.

Sanzo acquiesced but the peace only lasted several minutes before Goku got bored and started folding up important papers in some sad attempt at origami or something. Sanzo couldn't be sure. He shooed the monkey outside. Sanzo's treasured peace and silence barely stretched an hour before one of the monks came to tell him Goku had broken the bridge across the koi pond and was presently frolicking in said pond. Gritting his teeth, Sanzo went to investigate. Not only was the bridge railing broken, the beautiful blanket of water lilies was ravaged. Goku was chasing koi in the other side of the pond.

"Sanzo, look! Pretty!" He pointed to the fish.

"Get the hell out of there," Sanzo growled and he fanned Goku into the ground when the boy complied. "How the hell did you break the bridge?" Sanzo held up a hand. "No, don't tell me. I don't want to know. That pond is not for playing around in!"

"I saw the pretty gold flashes and I leaned on the bridge rail…and then I was in the water," Goku said and got fanned again.

"Keep out of the pond. Go get dried off," Sanzo ordered, stabbing a finger towards the temple.

"Awww," Goku groaned but he slogged off.

Sanzo took another look at the bridge and sighed. Hearing laughter from behind him, he whirled around to see an old monk watching him. He scowled at the man. "This isn't funny."

"It's never easy, raising children," the old monk, Sanzo couldn't remember his name, said.

Sanzo snorted, fumbling for his pack of cigarettes. "It's not like I'm the brat's father."

"No, you're barely old enough for that," the man replied, eyeing the twenty-year old priest. "But you are raising him, nonetheless."

Sanzo lit up. "Like hell I am, old man. He turns out like he turns out."

The monk glanced over at the bridge. "If that were true, you wouldn't have come out to the pond." The man gave the cigarette a longing look as if he were remembering a life from long ago when he was freer. "Be a good big brother and take the boy to the street festival tonight. It'll be a good place for someone so energetic."

Sanzo wanted to fan this old idiot. He settled for stalking off with a deprecating snort. Big brother, his ass, he was saddled with the chimp and that's all there was to it.

X X X

"This is so cool!" Goku cried, racing through the crowded streets.

Sanzo shielded his eyes, wondering what in the hell he was doing. This couldn't be a good idea. Goku made a beeline for a vendor selling cakes, then waved wildly to attract Sanzo's attention. "What?"

"I want one!"

The old monk's words about being a big brother ringing in his ears, Sanzo cursed himself as he handed over enough to buy a cake but knew his warning that this was a one-time event fell on deaf ears. Cake in mouth, Goku was already on to the next vendor but Sanzo managed to herd the monkey along until Sanzo got to a stand where he could buy a beer. Goku, entranced by a juggler, finally came to rest a few yards away. The boy's head bobbed in time with the flying objects. Less excited by juggling, Sanzo turned his attention back to the beer and sat down at the makeshift street side café.

He was well into his second beer when he realized Goku was gone. Sanzo finally spotted him watching a gambling dice game with far too much interest. Sighing, he went over and grabbed Goku by the fuzzy dead creature on his head that he called hair. "This is not for you."

"But it looked like fun!" Goku flailed as Sanzo hauled him away. "They said they were going to show me how to play."

Sanzo switched his grip to one of the floundering arms. "I'll explain it later. You do not want to play that. Besides, you don't have any money and that would have been a big problem." Sanzo sat Goku down and got himself another beer.

No sooner than he sat down than one of the gamblers call over to him. "Hey, we were going to have a little fun with your boyfriend. Don't keep him on such a short leash."

Sanzo gritted his teeth. "Stay here, Goku. Someone needs to learn a few lessons." Sanzo stalked off.

Goku eyed the beer then took a tentative sniff. His nose wrinkled. It didn't smell very good but Sanzo liked it. And if Sanzo liked it, beer had to be good. Goku wet his lips with it, grimacing at the bitter taste. Maybe he needed more before he found what was so good about it. Goku swallowed some of the amber liquid. What did Sanzo like about this? Still, beer just had to be good. Maybe he was doing it wrong. Goku tasted his way through the whole glass, trying to discover the goodness of beer. He had to admit, he felt warm and happy for drinking it.

"Did he want another one?" a girl asked coming up to the table. "Your monk friend?"

Goku grinned. Maybe the second beer would be better. "He sure does."

The second beer did seem to slide down more easily. Goku sprawled on his chair, watching Sanzo yelling and fighting with the men then he decided he was bored. Fuzzy and happy and not entirely steady on his feet, Goku went to look for more fun. He found some people dancing to lively music. Oh, he liked this a lot. Finding the drums' rhythm, Goku danced along with the crowd. A couple of cute girls danced with him. This was the most fun ever. He didn't ever want to go home.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Sanzo growled. Where had he come from, Goku wondered.

"Dancin'!" the drunken boy replied.

Sanzo's lips pulled back. "I thought you were having a full-body seizure."

Goku pouted at him, still moving to the beat. "I's dancin'."

Sanzo hauled him out of the dance circle, sniffing. He ignored the pouts of the young girls. "You drank my beer!"

"I did not," Goku replied and held up two wiggling fingers. "I drank two beers!"

Sanzo grumbled something under his breath and started pulling Goku back to the beer stand. "Now I have to pay for that."

"But I want to dance more."

"We're going home," Sanzo countered. "Once I square up with the beer vendor…and have one more beer to forget the trouble you keep causing."

Goku thumped down at the table Sanzo sat him at and glared at Sanzo as the monk drank his beer. "Don' wan' go home!"

"Do you think I care?" Sanzo snarled.

Glowering, Goku's hand flashed out and grabbed Sanzo's beer. He dodged the fan attack and took off. He'd go find himself some more fun. He didn't have to do everything Sanzo told him to, after all. He had things he wanted to do. Slugging down the beer as he ran, Goku tried to determine just what he did want to do. Evading the attack from behind had to come first. Twisting, hoping to avoid the fan he heard whizzing at him, Goku stumbled. "Whoa….things are spinny!" 

"Oh hell, you're soused," Sanzo growled, getting a firm grip on Goku with one hand while whacking him in the head with the fan with the other.

"Ya need to stop movin' so much Sanzo. I'm gettin' dizzy," Goku groaned.

"Just walk," Sanzo said, guiding Goku through the crowd.

"No!" Goku broke free and ran unsteadily, going he didn't know where. He just didn't want to leave the festival yet. There was new foods to eat and dancing to do.

Sanzo chased after him, finally pulling him to a halt. "Do I need to hit you with something harder than the fan?"

Goku's response was to turn green and vomit a stream of beer all over Sanzo's robes then pass out against him. Cursing, Sanzo dropped him, trying to shake the chunks off his robe.

Two old women paused, giving him sympathetic looks. "Is your handsome son sick?" one of them asked.

He curled his lip at them. "That drunken monkey isn't my son." He grabbed Goku by the rat tails and tried pulling him up.

"That's no way to care for a boy, priest," the other old woman scolded.

"Be nice to him."

Glaring, Sanzo got an arm around Goku and tossed him over his shoulder so he could carry the brat back home. Once there, Sanzo dumped the monkey in his cot and stripped off his fouled robes. Redressing, he carried it to the temple's laundry to make it someone else's problem.

"Damn it, two robes in as many days, idiot monkey runt," he grumbled.

"Did your boy enjoy the festival?"

Hearing the old priest's voice, Sanzo whipped around and glared at the aged man. "He's not my boy."

"Is he not your charge?" The old man's wrinkled lips smoothed in a smile.

Sanzo gritted his teeth. "If enjoying includes stealing my beer, getting drunk and puking on me, then yes, he enjoyed himself."

The old priest's head bobbed. "I remember some of those things as being very enjoyable."

"He didn't have to steal my beer," Sanzo said, stalking off. He didn't want to talk to this old bird and the man just didn't seem to take the hint.

"Did you ask yourself why he did it?"

Sanzo paused looking back at the man. "I don't really care."

"Probably because he saw you drinking it. The boy seems rather fond of his new big brother." The old priest smiled, as if daring Sanzo to kill him. "He was probably trying to be like you."

Sanzo snorted and picked up his pace, moving off as fast as he could and still hold on to his dignity. He could have sworn the old bastard was laughing at him. He went back to his room to see Goku was still passed out where he'd left him. Sanzo tucked the boy in, grumbling how this was not his job the whole time.

X X X

"I feel horrible!" Goku groaned, slowly waking up.

Sanzo knew he could miss all the pissing and moaning by just going to his office like he should but how could he miss out on being a good friend and making sure Goku got the full effects of his hang over. "You should," he said loudly and the boy moaned. "After what you did."

Goku sat up, holding his head. "What did I do?"

"You don't remember?" Sanzo queried, not lowering his voice. He got up to go over to Goku's bed.

Goku shook his head, then turned green. Sanzo backpedaled. "I feel awful."

"You stole _my_ beer, got drunk, acted like an ass then got sick all over me," Sanzo informed him.

Tired golden eyes fixed on Sanzo. "I did? I don't remember that!"

"Do you remember dancing with those girls?"

Goku wagged his head. "No, but that sounds like fun."

"It was frightening," Sanzo assured him.

"I got sick on ya?" Goku sounded distressed.

"In public."

"But my tummy never does that," Goku protested. He rubbed his belly. "But it does feel yucky."

"Not surprised." Sanzo went to his table. He poured some tea "Here, I thought you'd could use this, peppermint and ginger tea. It'll settle your stomach a little." He handed it to Goku.

The boy smiled up at him. "Thanks."

Sanzo rested a hand on Goku's thick hair. "There's more in the pot."

"Good."

"I'll be in my office." Sanzo left him, hiding his fond smile. That should teach the boy to imitate him. Monkey see, Monkey do. He sighed. "When I find who gave him to me, I'm going to kick his ass."


End file.
